FORGED PLATE The Land Transportation Office said that the protocol plate attached to the Cadillac Escalade was fake. —Screengrabbed from DOTr-SAICT video
MANILA, Philippines — With no one among the remaining 22 other senators coming forward to own up to the offense, Senate President Francis Escudero said on Monday that he had asked the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to name the registered owner and driver of a white Cadillac Escalade that escaped after it was flagged down by an enforcer for illegally using the Edsa bus lane.
According to Escudero, he also requested the LTO to determine if it had indeed released a special vehicle plate “7,” the protocol license plate issued to senators, to the luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV).
In a now-viral video, the SUV was seen moving in reverse as it tried to get out of the Edsa lane exclusively allotted for passenger buses, ambulances, and specific government vehicles.
READ: Driver of SUV with ‘7’ plate allegedly attempts to run over an enforcer
Before escaping, it allegedly almost ran over a member of the Department of Transportation-Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (DOTr-SAICT) who had flagged it down for using the bus lane on the northbound side of Edsa in Makati City on Sunday.
“Clearly, the [driver of the] SUV should be held liable for violating the [traffic regulation],” Escudero told reporters.
Minor infraction
“It’s actually just a minor infraction. All they have to do is present themselves [to the LTO], pay the fine and if they are found to have violated the use of protocol plates, they should surrender the protocol plate,” he said.
Not limited to senators
In April, Escudero was forced to publicly apologize after the driver of a Toyota Land Cruiser bearing the “7” license plate issued to his office also sped away after being accosted for using the Edsa busway. He said that a family member, whom he did not name, was aboard the SUV at the time.
Asked if any of his colleagues had admitted to owning the Escalade, Escudero replied in the negative.
“The LTO is still trying to determine if the protocol license plate was authentic. After the LTO has given us that information, that’s the only time we should ask who really owns the vehicle,” he said.
Escudero also clarified that the special plate was not limited to the 24 senators, adding that it was up to them to request the LTO for the protocol plates and then assign these to their vehicles.
“The [LTO] memorandum circular states that [the special plates] should be issued to specific vehicles. There’s no provision that the vehicle should only be used by the senators all the time,” Escudero added.
The LTO, meanwhile, reported that based on its initial assessment of the available evidence, no protocol plate had been issued to the white Escalade in the viral video.
“We assure the public that a show cause order will be issued to the registered owner and the driver of the SUV involved [at] the soonest possible time for them to explain the string of violations we already identified based on our existing laws, rules, and regulations, including disregarding traffic signs and improper person to operate a motor vehicle,” it said in a statement on Monday.
The LTO is currently coordinating with Escudero’s office to obtain more information about the SUV driver and two passengers.
According to the LTO, the protocol plate used by the Escalade—with the number “7” and “19th Congress 2022-2025” underneath it—was “fake, and there was no protocol plate issued to the same type of vehicle.”
In a statement, the SAICT said that despite its enforcers’ “efforts to approach the driver politely and perform their duties, the driver continued to resist and eventually reversed the vehicle until reaching the open barrier, where they managed to escape.”
“Adding to the disrespectful behavior, a passenger in the back seat of the SUV raised their middle finger at the officers as they fled,” it added.
“We condemn the actions of the driver and the passenger in this incident,” said Jonathan Gesmundo, executive assistant to the transportation secretary.
“Our officers were simply doing their jobs to maintain order and ensure the smooth flow of traffic,” he added.